Today we had a fuuuuull day planned out, sort of.
We got up, grabbed breakfast, poached some wi-fi and then set out to meet a friend of mine who is currently studying in HK for the next year. I thought Ashley would be desperate to just be with people she’s familiar with but I was wrong. She’s settled into life here so, so well and though she’s always been the kind of girl to be adventurous, she’s really warmed to the place, the language, the way of life and the people. It was great seeing her and because she fits in here so well one feels even more like a tourist; flowery shirt, socks and sandals, the whole sha-bang.
We took the ferry across to Central then wandered in the general direction of the Peak Tram, which for those of you not in the know, is an oldy-worldy style tram that clambers its way up inclines the likes of which you can’t possibly imagine and brings you nicely to a great little spot to view the whole of Victoria Harbour.
As has been the sort of trend so far, while you might expect tranquil and basic, instead you are greeted with a shopping mall that would fit quite happily into any major city. Gift shops, restaurants, even a ticket booth for the Disneyland on Lantau. It’s a little disappointing to see how westernised it has become, its an odd sort of mix, the lunch menu’s show that (Vietnamese spring rolls with German sausage Bolognese sauce on a baked potato) but the view more than makes up for it.
Spread out at your feet is seven and a half million people all bustling, all hectic but all working so efficiently and with minimal trouble that you can’t help but stand and stare (and squint) across it all and not find the words to describe it. I shan’t try, ill shove a picture on instead.
I dont know how he managed it, but somehow my dad only managed to capture the green colours and nothing else.....go figure
People have carved their names into the bamboo to mark that they’d been here and witnessed this wonderful vista. As long as you’ve got your back to the big glass monstrosity behind you, the place almost seems peaceful.
Back down on earth, an open top bus ride, a ferry ride and a short walk later we said goodbyes to Ashley (it’ll be about a year until I see her again) and then were in desperate need of cooling down. Add one swimming pool and everyone’s a winner.
We lazed a little then took the bus to the other side of the island, a village called Aberdeen which couldn’t be more different to its Scottish name-sake. After some misdirection on our part and the help of a young couple we found our way to the world famous Jumbo! Floating restaurant. You have to take a little tugboat out across the water to get to it. Fun!
I’ve had a picture of me and Dad outside it kicking around already somewhere. Bingo.
We settled in the huge ballroom style room at the top of the boat and gorged ourselves with chicken, sweet’n’sour pork, roast duck and king prawns. When in Rome……
I vaguely remember waddling back to the tug, floating across the water to land and stumbling into a taxi to the hotel but I’m afraid my mind was so jam packed with 4 types of animal that I might be a little hazy. Going to need to sleep this one off.
21/09/09
Ahoy Lantau Island, prepare to be boarded!!
After a rather long MTR train ride uptown and across the water to Tung Cheung we hopped on a bus to take us to a little mountain town named Ngong Ping which is home to two rather famous sites. Firstly the Po Lin Monastery which is beautiful, serene and very cool surprising. The idols and temple in the centre of it are not only a pleasure to look at, but because of the craftsmanship to them you feel privileged to look at them. Add to that a head full of incense which introduces itself very abruptly as soon as you walk into the ground and you could almost be convinced to live there with the monks.
The other famous resident of Ngong Ping is the 110ft Bronze Buddha of Tian Tan, which sits atop 268 steps (I can assure you there are, I counted both going up and coming down). It was built to represent the coming together of man and nature and I think I liked him most about my stay in HK so far. Despite the fact he is so big and should stick out like a sore thumb on the mountain top, there is something about the feeling up there that makes it seem like it would be bare without him.
The village itself is against quite westernised, even home to a Starbucks as well, which I can happily say I boycotted, opting instead for the Vietnamese takeaway style restaurant. Pretty simple food really, chicken and noodles, but the broth was delicious and the added touch of a thousand year egg makes it a little more special.
The upside to the modern village was that the feature called 'Walking with Buddha', while Disney-like in its setup, gave you a little deeper understanding to the religion and genuinely made me feel happier about the world. The fact that we left through the gift shop is something of a faux-pas on their part, but its still nice.
Rather than engaging in the lengthy bus journey back we decided to make it worthwhile and took a different bus to the other part of the island. A tiny little village called Tai O.
Im not sure if it was because I wasn't expecting it, or perhaps because I was uncomfortable being there, but it felt like walking around and taking photos was disrespectful to those who lived there. It's a pretty run down area and has some of the first settlers original houses there. You've probably seen them, they call them the 'Stilt Houses' and while they're interesting to see, what you dont expect is for people to still be living in them. For me it would be like someone walking around Hendon or Mossside in Manc and pointing, saying 'oh look at them houses, arent they odd?', taking a photo then walking off. It just didn't feel right.
I was glad I'd seen it but there's sight-seeing and there's intrusiveness.
Anyway, it's a long way back to Tung Cheung but I quite enjoyed being bumped along the roads all the way around the island back to the station to catch the train back. It was nice seeing a bit of greenery, and there is plenty of greenery to see on Lantau. Its stunning.
Now, the past few times we've been up Temple St we've been harassed by a guy promoting the curry house he works for. We remembered him instantly and thought we'd give it a chance, so we went back round that evening, found him, he walked us right to the restaurant, right to the table and gave us two free beers. So far looking good. We ordered a few currys and the usual accompanyments and it was, as he described it, 'Satisfaction Garanted'. Great food at barely any cost. We may even go back tomorrow!
NJH
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